Rescue a Christmas miracle’

PHOENIX (AP) — A patrol officer spotted a suspected kidnapper’s vehicle and aided in the rescue of a 5-year-old girl who was found uninjured in what police are calling Phoenix’s “Christmas miracle.”

The girl was rescued at about 9:30 p.m. Friday, more than seven hours after she was scooped up by a stranger while playing with her sisters outside their Phoenix apartment building.

“She is alive and well,” police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said.

Larry Jon Ladwig, 45, was booked into jail early yesterday on charges of kidnapping, sexual molestation of a child, aggravated assault of a police officer and felony flight. It’s unclear whether Ladwig has a lawyer.

Hill credited a “very alert” policeman with taking quick action after spotting what appeared to be the suspect’s vehicle driving on a west Phoenix avenue, even though the license plate differed from reports.

Officer Mike Burns pulled alongside and “saw a suspect that matched the description and thought he saw a small child,” Hill told The Associated Press.

He said the pickup sped off, and Burns gave chase and alerted the force. Officers put spike strips across the road several blocks away that punctured the suspect’s tires, causing him to crash on the roadside.

The driver took off on foot but was caught and arrested a block away after a brief struggle.

“She is alive and well thanks to the timely diligence of Officer Burns,” Hill said. “It is rare in stranger abduction cases so much time can pass without a tragic ending. This was truly a Christmas miracle.”

The sergeant said the girl appeared to be in good shape but was being examined by health officials.

The Associated Press is not reporting the girl’s name because she might be the victim of a sex crime.

Police received the call that a girl had been taken at about 2:15 p.m.

A special alert was issued, and authorities began combing the area on foot, by car and with helicopters.

Hill said the child had been playing in a common area at the apartment complex with her two sisters, ages 7 and 9, when a man parked his brown pickup in a nearby parking lot and walked over to them carrying a camera.

“He physically grabbed the 7-year-old girl and forcibly took a photo of her,” Hill said.

The man then forced the 5-year-old into the truck and drove away. Witnesses reported that as the man was fleeing, he hit a parked car before entering southbound 19th Avenue.

The girl and her sisters had been staying at an apartment in the complex with an aunt who has legal custody of them, Hill said. The girls’ parents live separately out of state.